A 28-year-old man has been arrested after kidnapping a mentally handicapped 63-year-old woman in Bordeaux in south-western France in order to force her to marry him and obtain a residence

The sexegenarian's ordeal began in August 2011 a few months after the man arrived illegally from Tunisia, according to a report in the local Sud Ouest daily.

The man moved into the woman's apartment in the Grand-Parc area of the city and remained in her apartment for the proceeding two months. According to the report, the 28-year-old made the woman's life hell, doling out regular beatings while he attempted to forcibly marry her in order to regularize his situation his France.

The woman was finally able to flee by taking refuge with a neighbour, who alerted the police.

A medical examination of the woman revealed a catalogue of bruises and physical abuse.

The man meanwhile suspected that he had been exposed and immediately fled ending up in Italy. He however returned to Bordeaux at some point and was identified by the police.

A police unit tracked the man to an apartment in Cenon, the home of a young girl who was also mentally handicapped and currently in hospital. The man had changed the locks on her apartment and had once again disappeared by the time the police had arrived.

The police were however able to locate and detain the man in central Bordeaux on Monday with the help of clues found in the apartment.

According to this article in Le Sudouest, the police are trying to determine whether there were other victims besides the two already known.

Extract from another article about it:

The victim's medical examination was devastating. She had traces of blows all over her body and had lost 25 kilos. Her torturer had fashioned a sort of cudgel. He forced the woman he wanted to make his wife to write his name, his date of birth and his address in a notebook every day.

If the woman in her 60s, who was only able to write with difficulty, did well, he would put a grade, 20/20 or 18/20. If she made mistakes, which happened regularly, he would strike her with the cudgel. He also wrote or engraved his name in large letters on the furniture and walls of the living room and bedroom.